2004 Rastede - Oldenburg Tour

Spring Memories For Autumn Melancholy

One can no longer deny it, autumn has arrived. Leaves are falling and cold, dreary winter is just around the corner. When one looks out of the window, all you can see are beautiful palets of red, brown, yellow, beige; the colors of the leaves turning. It's not longer all shades of green, it is the color of decay that is surrounding is.

I never found the time to share these images with you. On our spring trip to the Oldenburg Elite Mare show in Rastede, Germany, Eurodressage and its American Oldenburg friends stopped at a couple of breeder's farms to take photos of the herds and to inspect this year's crop of foals. Breeders such as Martin Detemann, Heiko Klausing, Clemens von Merveldt and Olliver Kotschofsky opened their gates to the mare fields...

The Klausing Herds

Though nested in Oldenburg country, Heiko Klausing is a renowned Hanoverian breeder.

In front of his house there is a huge field with the mares in foal. The hot weather made them stand at the gait waiting to go in, while bugs annoyed them. The only way to relieve the itch is to scratch.

Are these two mares identical copies of each other?

A bit further down the road on the left, hidden between gigantic corn fields, is the filly field.

When we entered their domaine, they all came running towards us like an army marching in ranks. They were all side by side, controlled, determined and curious. No maniac stampede took place in their field.

The fillies gathered round us in a big circle as if we were a totem round which an Indian dance was being held. When we left the others were looking towards the group, while the chestnut kept a suspicious eye on me. I love this photo.

These are the Klausings. Heiko's father and brother. What are they thinking? "Here are those crazy Americans again"? Little do they know that part of our group is European, and that were not crazy, just fanatic horse lovers.

Heiko is a successful breeder and rider. He won the Bundeschampionate aboard breeding stallion Don Larino (Donnerhall x Larinero), finished second with the Rohdiamant mare Ramina K (who sold to Sissy Max Theurer at the Verden Elite auction). Heiko's father Wilhelm bred Rhodes Scholar. Almost all mares at Hof Klausing are State Premium Mares. They also bred international dressage horses Placido (by Prestige Pilot) and Crisp (by Consul)

Curiosity at Kotschofsky

Next stop is Oliver Kotschofsky's barn were the youngsters have the most incredible lush fields to stand in. Here Kotschofsky describes the history of his barn. "The founder of the breeding and riding stables, Franz Kotschofsky, always had a preference for horses. In his younger years, he worked with horses on estates or in forests. In the 60’s he first bought his own broodmare, with which the existing breeding business began. The first broodmares were based on Hannoverian bloodlines, for example, our premium mare “Pikante”, which among others were delivered by the internationally successful jumper “Dobel’s Luigi”.

In the 80’s, Franz Kotschofsky changed to the Breeders Society of Oldenburger Horses. He bred continually successful jumping and dressage offspring, as well as many other award-winning mares and prize-winning stallions. During his lifetime, Franz Kotschofsky was already supported by his sons Klaus and Oliver. They continue to lead the business in his interest."

The Kotschofsky's are very much involved in show jumping breeding, but have also bred some very well known dressage horses, such as Rosemount Show Tyme (by Landadel, Royal Gala (by Royal Diamand) and Pro Savage (by Pilox)

The picture left are the one year old geldings. They are look in perfect shape.

Text and Photos © Astrid Appels

Related Link
Photo Tour of the 2004 Oldenburg Elite Mare Show in Rastede